This is my first activation report,I hope you find it interesting and informative.
I parked the car in the village hall car park of Amulree on the A822, midway, approximately between Crieff and Aberfeldy.There is ample parking and a donation is requested for the upkeep of the car park.
Walk north on the A822 past the hotel which is undergoing renovation over the bridge and turn left up through North Amulree farm past Keepers Cottage through the gate to join a track past three static caravans.The route merges with General Wade"s military road which leads up to Glen Fender
Evidence of the Clearances is clearly visible in the above photo.I made my way up to the track which runs North West through Glen Fender.
At the next gate turn right to ascend Beinn Liath,dont worry if you miss it,there are two other tracks further on which will lead to you in the right direction.Follow over the summit of Ben Liath and the track itself.I would recommend staying on the track,as from personal experience, I ended up in shrubland at the base of Meall Dearg-not very pleasant.The track itself does not cross over meall dearg,so it is neccessary to leave the track 888 415(approx) to climb to the summit
The summit itself has a trig point and a very good take-off to the North and East.There is an abundance of space to set up on H.F.This view was taken to the north with Schiehallion and Ben Vrackie in the distance.I said good take off to the North and east.I was pleasantly surprised when I heard Richard 2W0LWF/P on GW/NW-005 using a handheld on 2M,we exchanged signal reports and summit references to establish the contact.I think we were both very surprised to cover such a distance.both reports were 5 and 1,so very pleased to get that into the log at 12:00.Next contact was a fellow activator Chris 2MOPVP who was operating from Craiglochart hill at12:04, then Ken GM0AXY at 12;15 from Edinburgh and the Christine GM4YMM.Issues from my H.F. antenna prevented me from proceeding down this avenue.
I would strongly suggest following your footsteps back by gaining the path used for the ascent.This area can be prone to sudden changes in visibility
Here is a view of the summit from the estate road.
Another showing the track as it tracks over Beinn Liath
This image looking south shows on the right Meall Reamhar GM/SS-105 and it"s neighbouring Graham Meall nan Caorach GM/SS-104.Incidentally both summits can be climbed in a day using the Amulree car park as the base.
Returning by the in route I came acros the remains of a bridge built by General Wade"s men.
Althogh very broken down ,it must be over 300 years old.
To summarise I found this walk and subsequent activation a very interesting one,a mixture of history ,radio and spectacular vistas.I would again stress the need to stay on the estate paths and ONLY divert to climb to the summit.My references are approximate and intended only as a guide.
The notice board which now surrounds the Amulree Hotel makes an interesting read as to the history of the area and the owner"s proposed intentions regarding the hotel"s future.
I hope you find this walk as enjoyable as I did.
73s Jim